Tackley’s new rail users group now has a few members and is due to meet for the first time soon. If you are interested in joining, please contact Richard Macrory at richard.macrory@gmail.com.
Vulnerable Adult Hub
A few people have shown an interest in being involved in the proposed vulnerable adult hub to provide a central, confidential service where anyone could get in touch with information requests or register their concerns big or small. If you are interested or need help, please contact Richard Holland-Oakes on 07595 040826 or richard.holland-oakes@tackleyvillage.co.uk.
S106 Money
Since our request in the last newsletter, we have had no further comments or suggestions on what the village would like the available Section 106 money to be spent on.
There are some stipulations on how it can be used: a ‘leisure and community services contribution’ of £72,664 can go towards sports and recreation facilities, and an ‘offsite sports contribution’ of £107,919 can contribute to the enhancement of community facilities within the parish.
Please email the clerk at parishclerk@tackleyvillage.co.uk with your ideas, particularly if you did not take part in the initial consultation in 2022.
Dog Waste
The black bin in the Jubilee Garden, mistakenly used as a dog poo bin since the official one was removed, has now finally been taken away. Please continue to use the official West Oxfordshire District Council (WODC) bin by the bridge.
Thank you to the many dog owners who bag up their dogs’ mess and dispose of it carefully in the village and surrounding areas. Please make sure only the black WODC bins are used – or your own grey bin at home – not the wooden bins in the playground and by the hardcourt and teen shelter.
Rail Crossing
Many will have seen the application for Network Rail (Tackley Level Crossing) Order which has been put up along the footpaths and bridleways around the railway line. All documents can be found on the Network Rail website.
In summary, taken from page 3 of document NR04:
The level crossing will be permanently closed, and a new bridleway will be diverted along a new route to the west of its current position, running adjacent to the railway to the south.
The existing route of the bridleway will remain open as a cul-de-sac, with only the portion over the railway being stopped up. This will be accessible by using the new bridleway and existing public right of way network.
The new bridleway route will run to the south, adjacent to Network Rail’s existing boundary, before joining up with the existing byway.
The permanent solution to re-provide the ‘barrow crossing’ functionality of the level crossing at the station itself will be a stepped footbridge with lifts. Permissive access can be provided to non-railway users, including pedestrians and cyclists on foot, along the platforms and over the footbridge unless and until ticket barriers are installed at the station or Network Rail otherwise determines that access to non-railway users should cease.
The deadline for objecting to the application was 26 January. Your parish council is objecting to the plans, particularly to the new route of the bridleway which has been deemed unsafe by local riders as well as the British Horse Society.
Apart from the beautiful heath, Tackley is lucky enough to have another County Wildlife Site and Local Nature Reserve.
Crecy Hill is a steep sunny limestone bank of about three acres that was created in 1850 when the Great Western Railway cut into the side of the Cherwell valley to lay the Oxford to Banbury line. It was made a nature reserve in 1997.
Over 100 wild flower varieties and more than 15 types of grasses have been recorded on the site. These include pyramidal orchids, bee orchids, fairy flax, dwarf thistle, salad burnet, bird’s foot trefoil and wild basil. Over 100 insect species have also been seen, including marbled white and blue butterflies.
Cattle graze on the site in winter and early spring to control invasive coarse grasses and encourage the growth of wild flowers. This means that ragwort and woolly thistle have to be removed to ensure it is safe for the cattle.
Scrub comprising hawthorn and blackthorn is retained for 10–20% of the reserve to protect birds, lizards, slow worms and toads. This needs to be cut on rotation, and this work is undertaken by Oxford Conservation Volunteers. They will be running a scrub control event on Crecy Hill on Sunday, 17 March when the primroses and violets should have made their spring appearance. See their website ocv.org.uk for more information.
To learn about how Crecy Hill got its name, see Tackley History Mysteries No. 10 written by John Perkins for Tackley Local History Group at tackleyhistory.org.uk.
To find Crecy Hill, take the track (bridleway) straight up the hill to the left of Ashwell Bank Lane.
Brushcutters
On Sunday, 4 February an in-depth brushcutter training session will be taking place. Please get in touch if you would like to volunteer to become a village brushcutter!
It’s all change in the supermarket seasonal aisle, with the Christmas confectionary put away. This month the aisle is festooned with red and pink hearts, chocolates and cards.
Watching the news I think the world could do with more love in it. Not the fickle love of here today and gone tomorrow, but the lasting deep love that God calls us to have for one another.
When asked “Which is the greatest commandment?” Jesus replied with the summary of the Law:
“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ All the Law and the prophets hang on these two commandments.”
This year Ash Wednesday, which signals the beginning of Lent, falls on 14 February, Valentine’s Day. Lent is the season when Christians think about preparing our hearts, minds and souls for celebrating Easter. This isn’t about organising the Sunday roast or buying the chocolate Easter eggs, but rather thinking about aligning our hearts and minds with God’s will.
During Advent, the season of preparation for Christmas, the Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell invited us to read Stick with Love by Arun Arora. Each day we thought about different saints (Christians) who had chosen, along with Martin Luther King, to “stick with love… hate is too great a burden to bear.”
As I listen on the radio to the war between Israel and Hamas, and its spiralling widening consequences – the Houthis attacking ships in the Red Sea, resulting in retaliatory fire from American and British war ships attempting to guard the shipping lanes; the missile attacks between Iran and Pakistan; our government’s attempts to ship illegal migrants off to another country – I think the world could do with more love in it.
This Lent we are going to be thinking about ‘The Way of Love’, using the ‘Come and See’ material from the Diocese of Oxford. Through daily readings we will be taking a closer look at the Ten Commandments and what they mean in the context of God’s love for us. God invites us to walk the way of love with him, in a deep relationship with him, while also showing his love to our neighbours – those who are like us and those who are not – to live a life of love.
Everyone is welcome to join us as we meet to explore ‘The Way of Love’ together, details for which can be found on our website. Alternatively, individuals and families can sign up for daily emails from the diocese or perhaps reflect on how you can share love with our local, national and international neighbours using a different love language (words of affirmation, touch, time, gifts and jobs) each week.
Light Refreshments
Julian Whitehead
Tackley Parochial Church Council would like to give many thanks to the Pop-up Pub for its generous donation to the cost of floodlighting St Nicholas’ Church the during Christmas and New Year.
Poppy Appeal
Sue Pitts
I’m sorry this missed the December issue, but I had not received the final figures before the deadline.
A total of £703.43 was raised in the village for last year’s Poppy Appeal. This includes the collections from the Remembrance Day service and the memorial service in the village hall.
Thank you to the shop and Sturdy’s Castle for having collection boxes; and also to the school, where children gave their time to sell items from an activity box.
My thanks to everyone who gave so generously, and a special thank-you to the volunteers who gave their time to help me at the village hall on the two Saturday mornings.
Our first meeting of 2024 is on Tuesday, 6 February at 7:45 for 8 pm in the village hall when our speaker will be Chrissie with her owls. Chrissie’s Owls is a small non-profit organisation, based in Oxfordshire, committed to the care and conservation of owls. They also provide owl rescue services for Oxfordshire and surrounding counties.
Tuesday, 5 March is our AGM. After the short business meeting, we’re going to be talking about items that mean something special to us — a kind of ‘show and tell’. It will be a chance to learn new things about each other.
On Tuesday, 2 April we will have a talk on Japan from Roy Carrington.
We look forward to welcoming new members this year. Visitors are also welcome at our meetings for £5 including refreshments. We are a friendly group of women of all ages – 30s to 90s – so do come along and try out Tackley WI!
A friendly way to get to know your local countryside better, we organise two leisurely walks each month, led by members. Everybody is welcome.
Walks on second Saturdays meet at 9:30 am and are typically 5–8 miles; walks on fourth Wednesdays meet at 2 pm and are 3–5 miles.
We meet by the village hall before each walk to arrange car sharing, bus or train to the start of the walk. Most walks are in North Oxfordshire. Some walks conclude with an optional lunch or refreshments at a local pub or cafe. Routes are often suitable for dogs kept under close control.
Our programme, presented here, can also be found on the village website.
Please note that walks may be subject to change, and that walkers take responsibility for their own safety.
Saturday, 10 February at 9:30 am: A circular walk from Begbroke to Bladon. Starting at St Michael’s Church in Begbroke, the walk takes us up towards Bladon Church and back again to Begbroke through Bladon Heath. About 5 miles, led by Sue Lygo.
Wednesday, 28 February at 2 pm: A loop from St Mary’s Church in Kidlington out to Thrupp and back, with the option of a cuppa at Annie’s Tea Room at Thrupp. About 3.5 miles, led by Alison Matthews.
Saturday, 9 March at 9:30 am: A walk along the canal into Oxford. We will take the 09:43 bus to Langford Lane and join the towpath just outside Kidlington. The route then follows the canal all the way to Oxford Station. The majority of the route is bordered by trees and hedgerows, with the roads and industrial sites generally out of view. As we make our way through Oxford, there are multiple opportunities to peel off early and join the Banbury Road from Summertown onwards if necessary. Travel back by bus or train. 6.2 miles, led by Robert Maybank.
Wednesday, 27 March at 2 pm: A walk to Bletchingdon taking in Greenhill Farm where there is the opportunity to stop for refreshments. About 3 miles, led by Gordon.
There’s not a great deal we can do at this time of year, so this is a reminder that our AGM is on Tuesday, 20 February at 7:45 for 8 pm. I look forward to seeing you all, and anyone else who would like to join us. The annual fee is still £10 and is payable at the AGM. This is also a cheese and wine evening.
Tackley Craft Club would like to say a big thank-you to Pop-up Pub for sponsoring us by paying the last three months’ village hall hire costs. We are a small social group and sometimes struggle to pay the fees, so it was great that another community venture stepped in to help us.
The club has now been established for ten years. We have recently had to change evenings, and now meet on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month. Join us at the village hall at 7 pm for two hours. Refreshments are provided.
Sometimes we work on charity projects. At the moment we are producing baby hats for South Central Ambulance Service.
We are also doing a series of sewing machine lessons so people can get to know their sewing machine.
Tackley Local History Group meets on the fourth Monday at 7:45 for 8 pm in Tackley Village Memorial Hall.
On Monday, 26 February Byron Russell, a member of the North Leigh Roman Villa volunteer group, will give an illustrated talk on Trier: Unknown Capital of the Roman Empire. Everyone has heard of Rome, and many know of Constantinople, but there was a period in Roman history when there were four Emperors — and as many capital seats of power. Least known yet nearest to Britain is Trier in northern Germany, a city that boasts some of the most complete and best-preserved Imperial buildings outside of Rome itself.
On Monday, 25 March Richard O Smith will present Oxford Examined: Town & Clown. Richard is a comedy writer who contributes material to the likes of Radio 4’s The Now Show and The News Quiz, and is the author of several books.
Dr Tony Martin
Anne Martin
Anne and family would like to thank everyone for their support over the recent months and, in particular, the kind messages received following Tony’s death from Lewy body disease.
Special thanks to the bell ringers who rang for Tony’s final journey through Tackley, and to the friends who prepared the village hall ready for us to share the delicious food and drink together (thank you Eloise, of EP Catering, and the Pop-up Pub team). Meeting up with friends and family to reminisce and catch up made it a lovely send-off.
Tackley is a truly special village.
Finally, thank you to those who attended the funeral, and for the kind donations to Katherine House Hospice and the Lewy Body Society via Jerrams Brothers Funeral Directors.
